Yuletide Merriment
by Stargate Fan
Summary: Part 8 of The Survivor's series. Who exactly is Santa Claus? Jack knows!


Yuletide Merriment

It was December 24. Christmas Eve. This particular holiday meant a lot to four of the six people seated around the living room at Jack's cabin. Vala and Teal'c were the only ones who didn't have fond childhood memories of past yuletide happiness. Even Daniel, who had spent most of his childhood in foster care, had warm memories of Christmas with his parents before their unfortunate demise. And some of the foster families had tried to make the holidays a time of fun for him.

They had just finished a brisk walk down the long drive and back, in an attempt to help digest the delicious dinner that they'd all put together which consisted of turkey, cranberries, stuffing, sweet potatoes, Waldorf salad and corn and other trimmings. Coats, hats and mittens were hung on the wall pegs and wet boots were stashed by the back door. Cameron started the coffee pot brewing and the pies that Daniel had baked were sitting on the counter.

"Jack, you're kidding, right?" Daniel looked aghast at his former Commanding Officer, now retired two star U.S. Air Force general.

"Would I lie?" Jack raised both hands, questioning their doubting looks. "Okay, don't answer that. Still, I'm dead serious. Thor is Santa Claus."

Daniel looked at Sam and said, "I thought you didn't spike the egg nog. I specifically remember you saying that you wouldn't so that Teal'c could taste it and not have to worry about alcohol, since he never drinks anything stronger than coffee or tea?"

"I never spiked it, Daniel. This is all Jack. Unless he's got a bottle of Jack Daniels stashed in a cupboard somewhere."

"I'm not drunk, kids! The bottle is still unopened – the seal unbroken. I'm telling you the truth. Thor is Santa. He flies over the planet and uses Asgard beaming technology to deliver all the presents. Everything is stored in the computer data base on his ship."

Vala was very excited, anticipating presents that would magically appear when Santa flew over. She didn't care who Santa was and she had seen far stranger things while skipping across the galaxy and she loved getting presents. She'd never heard of Christmas before coming to earth and she was ready to embrace this concept with everything she had. Being a space pirate was never as lucritive!

Teal'c smiled and watched his friends as they argued over the theory. He'd read extensively about earth culture and knew the stories of Santa and the north pole elves who made toys and the eight tiny reindeer who pulled a sleigh through the night time sky on Christmas eve, delivering presents. There was nothing like it on Chulak, the planet where he grew up, and he enjoyed the youthful glee that his friends were displaying.

Cam came into the living room carrying a tray with mugs, flavored creamers and sweeteners. "Okay, how does he know what everyone wants? Think about it, Jack. How many people are we talking about? He has to know what everyone wants and that's just too many people to remember."

"I don't have that all worked out, Cam. I'm just sure that he's the guy in the little red suit."

Vala looked around the room and said, "Well, I think it's a marvelous idea. Who cares how it happens?"

"Vala," Daniel said, "There is no Santa Claus. I can tell you exactly where and when that mythology started. Back in the time of…"

Jack piped up and said, "Can it, Daniel. You're being a humbug! Nobody wants to hear all that. You'll take all the fun out of this."

Daniel looked a bit hurt when Jack was finished chastising him. "You just want to perpetuate the myth!"

Cam returned to the room with the coffee carafe and said, "Hey, stop it, already! We don't want to argue on Christmas night. It's better to agree to disagree and let it go. Daniel knows all about the stories and their origins and that's cool. Jack, if you want to believe that Thor is Santa, I'm not gonna tell you otherwise."

"Well, it's easier to believe that Thor is Santa than to believe there is a guy in a sleigh flying around delivering all the presents in the traditional way," Sam said. "I remember in our college physics class when we researched possible ways it could be done. In every case, we discovered that in order for this to happen, Santa had to visit approximately 40 million people in one night. Not everyone on earth celebrates Christmas. So, he has to travel faster than the speed of light and it just can't be done without him spontaneously combusting. Science proves it."

"You researched Santa in college physics? Didn't you go to the academy, Sam?" Jack scratched his head and said, "That's just bizarre!"

"Yes, and it was a perfect project for the Air Force academy. Santa flies, right? So does the Air Force."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But, I still think he's Thor."

Pie and coffee topped off the evening and then the gang decided to head into town to attend the midnight service at the local Catholic church. Sam had mentioned that she wanted to go as she remembered going to midnight services with her Dad and now that he was gone, it left a hole in her heart. The holidays were not going to be easier for her and the others weren't exactly thrilled about going but they decided that it might be a nice gift for Sam if they all went. She felt a bit overcome with emotion as she watched them get all geared up. Jack went out ahead of time to start the engine on the SUV and scrape the light layer of snow off the windows.

They entered the church and found a row near the back where they would all fit. The sanctuary was dimly light with candles and smelled of bees wax and incense. Everyone around smiled at them as they greeted them and soon the church organ peeled forth with the opening notes of "O Come, All Ye Faithful." Vala and Teal'c didn't know the words, of course, but enjoyed listening to the other congregants singing. After the first verse, they caught on and Teal'c's deep bass was appreciated by those around him. Daniel held Vala's hand and sang along. Cam stood to Daniel's immediate left and held the song book for Sam and Jack who were to his left.

Jack was on the side aisle and saw old Mrs. Baxter hobble up and look ahead for a place to sit. He grabbed Sam's hand and they stepped out into the aisle and motioned for her to take their place. Cam smiled at the old woman and held the book so that she could join him in singing.

Jack remembered Mrs. Baxter from his days as a boy when he came to the cabin with his parents. She'd been the town librarian for 53 years and had been widowed for the last 8. Jack put his arm around both Sam and Mrs. Baxter as the next song started. "O Little Town of Bethlehem," was echoing from the vaulted ceiling as the congregants put their heart and souls into the anthem.

When everyone sat, Jack stepped out of the aisle to make room and shook hands with old Mr. Levinson. Mrs. Levinson was seated in the pew behind SG-1 and he smiled in greeting her. The priest gave a warm sermon about what Christmas was really all about. All the members of SG-1 were lost in thought for a moment considering his words in context to what they were doing for a profession. One God opposed to many false gods. It was a bit daunting.

There was some confusion during the service of when to stand or sit and one time, when everyone sat, Vala remained standing for a few seconds and then blushed as she sat back down. Then, everyone stood and she remained sitting. When she finally got up to stand, everyone knelt and she turned around and glared at Daniel who had started to chuckle. Just as she went to open her mouth and give him a piece of her mind, he pulled her down to sit and put his hand over her mouth.

"Don't," he whispered in her ear.

Everyone around started to smile as she sputtered but she had the good grace to remain quiet and when she smiled at him, he grinned and then pulled her close to his side.

"Joy to The World," was the final hymn and there was a lot of smiles and good wishes for a merry Christmas from everyone around as they exited the sanctuary. The SGC members piled into the SUV and Jack asked if they wanted to drive around town and look at the pretty light displays before heading home and they all agreed. He turned on the car stereo and they all listened quietly as they looked out the windows at the beautiful colors adorning the homes and businesses around the small village. "Silent Night," started and Sam started to sing along. Soon, the whole group was chiming in and before long, they were back at the cabin. It was 1:30 but they were all keyed up and not ready for bed. This was nothing unusual as they were used to keeping crazy hours at the base.

They perched themselves around the living room and Vala asked if they could open presents. She'd bought everyone a gift and wanted to dole them out. Everyone agreed and soon the cabin was full of the sound of ripping paper and exclamations of surprise. Vala hugged Sam for the bracelet and Teal'c sat in overstuff chair by the fireplace, smiling at the DVD boxed set of the "Planet Earth" documentry that Daniel had bought for him. Jack got lures from Cam and Daniel got a GPS for his Jeep from Teal'c.

All the wrapping paper was gathered and stuffed in a box next to the fireplace and the bows and plastic gift wrap was put in the trash. They sat around talking about Christmas' past and the fond memories they had.

Then, there was a flash of light. Chaos reigned! All six got up out of their seats and took defensive positions around the interior of the cabin, diving into doorways and behind couches. Jack grabbed his shotgun from behind his bedroom door and started to load it as he came back into the room!

And the sight before them caused them all to stare in wonder.

Under the tree, around the tree and all over the rest of the living room were presents! Boxes wrapped in pretty paper with bows and every surface was covered. They all looked at each other and watched in disbelief as Jack grabbed the Asgard communicator and yelled into it, "Thor! Thanks for the gifts! But, how am I going to get the new truck out of my living room!"

The End


End file.
